Volkswagen Shows Off Auto Pilot For Cars

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While most automakers try to
fix the problems with today's tech, Volkswagen
is working on tomorrow's. The future of driving, in major cities
at least, is looking more and more like it will be done by
high-tech computers rather than actual people, at least if the
latest breakthroughs in self-driving vehicle technology mean
anything.

Now Volkswagen has presented its Temporary Auto Pilot technology.
Monitored by a driver, the technology can allow a car to drive
semi-automatically at speeds of up to 80 mph on highways.

It works using a combination of existing technology such as
adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist, rolling them all
into one comprehensive function. Nonetheless, the driver always
retains driving responsibility and is always in control, and must
continually monitor it. In this way, Volkswagen only sees it as a
stepping stone towards what seems like an eventual future where
nobody will be doing any driving.

In the semi-automatic driving mode, the system maintains a safe
distance to the vehicle ahead, drives at a speed selected by the
driver, reduces this speed as necessary before a bend and
maintains the vehicle’s central position with respect to lane
markers. The system also observes overtaking rules and speed
limits. Additionally, stop and start driving maneuvers in traffic
jams are also automated.

The good news -- or bad, depending on how you look at it -- is
that compared to the more advanced autonomous driving
technologies, Volkswagen’s latest Temporary Auto Pilot is based
on a relatively production-like sensor platform, consisting of
production-level radar-, camera- and ultrasonic-based sensors
supplemented by a laser scanner and an electronic horizon.

This means that we could see a production version within the next
couple of years.